Day 46 - Glacier Bay - Sep 9th

As the title suggests, this was a scenic cruising day through Glacier Bay.  The sun was up briefly at 6:20am, but we weren’t up until a more respectable hour and yippee, the breakfast parfait was back.   I was hungry as we hadn’t eaten much the night before, so I also managed to scoff a substantial breakfast that included poached eggs for the first time in awhile.

We called in back to the cabin for our warm jackets and spent much of the day alternating between the warmth of the interior and the distinct chill and damp on deck.

However, the main buzz was that several passengers were left stranded in Juneau up a mountain!  Versions differ and the story is that either the helicopter couldn’t pick the party of 12 up as the weather closed in, or, that five had wanted to walk up there and didn’t return to the helicopter, but 7 did.  As the number included a Mum and her two kids and her parents are on board, we might have to wait until they return to the ship in Vancouver, to find out the full story.  There is a hut up the mountain, so it may not be as bad as it sounds, but as the ‘copters couldn’t go out the previous day anyway, it always was a bit risky. 

Fortunately M & M had a great time on their trip and managed the dog sledding on snow.

Anyway, back to today.  It is quite eerie as the ship trundles so slowly up the bay, with chunks of ice floating past and a misty atmosphere.  The captain took us quite close to the end and the glacier face again and the ice calved more than once, though we didn’t see any sea life, other than a distant whale spout late in the day.  There were a few on board whales though and a couple more pics for my collection.  

The Alaskan seafood buffet lunch out on deck could have been warmer, though the addition of reindeer chilli warmed it up a wee bit.  One of the vista waiters bears a striking resemblance to a young Rowan Atkinson...

We returned to the cabin and once again I crashed out.  (Not a terrible night’ sleep, but not a good one either – or maybe these nana naps are a symptom of aging?)

Our afternoon quiz team was a couple of members short so our morning duo of Gayle & Denise joined us but we still finished 2 points behind the winners.  Poor Kim lost her voice, so one of the passengers took over.  (Meanwhile, Deputy Cruise Director Matt was suffering again with his teeth – or loss of them.  He had 3 wisdom teeth out just before he boarded at Beijing, but had been suffering ever since and at almost every stop, had to visit a local dentist.  At Juneau, they pulled another tooth, so he was suffering too, though we did get a mention on the Wake Show for the gift of the named mugs.)

A full table for the Italian menu dinner.  Very nice too, though the head waiter had cooked the tasty spaghetti with finely diced olives and anchovies, garlic and tomato, two nights ago.

Vista lounge was a  double bill with pianist Stephen Kane with another good performance, followed by Zach Winningham, billed only as a vocalist,  he played guitar too – and very well.  Had we known he also played guitar we would have gone to his earlier concert.

We called at the atrium but only for a drinking chocolate and crashed out at midnight, but the clocks go on an hour again tonight, for the last time.

On TV, it was too early for the Italian GP, but it was good to see my football club, Notts County, sitting at the top of their division.

Another day at sea tomorrow and it will soon be time to start packing.  Much as we have enjoyed the cruise, we are now looking forward to getting home again and some semblance of normality, even though that does include shopping, cooking and cleaning etc., plus very limited food courses and choices at dinner.  It will be nice to catch up with friends too, as we do miss them when we are away.  This time next week we’ll be home, but before then, we have Vancouver, Vancouver Island and San Francisco to enjoy. 

Day 45 - Juneau, Alaska's capital - Sep 7th

Normal wake time now seems to be 2:45am...  Back to sleep eventually until sunrise, well, daybreak anyway, as we berthed at Juneau.  Just beyond our berth was the Disney ship and by the time the day was over, there was another Holland America ship in too, so as you can imagine, the souvenir shops were in full swing, as were stalls operating tours. 

Fortified with a hearty breakfast we the braved the damp cool air up on deck on the way back to our cabin (sorry, but Princess may call it a stateroom, but it isn’t exactly stately; comfortable and cosy yes; stately, no).  and noted the Roberts tramcar (cable car) started operating at 8:30am, so we had already made the decision to do that early in the day, as the forecast was anything but good from midday onwards. 

Getting off was a doddle and we walked the five minutes to the base station.  Just alongside, were about ten stalls operating all sorts of tours, but unlike the earlier stops in the east, no hassling at all.  We paid the $29 each for the tram ticket (valid for multiple rides and also the same price as those sold by Princess) and hopped on the first tramcar.  Very little seating and the operator warned us he was not a morning person, so the ride up was only OK, as we looked down on the ship(s).  Getting off at the top there are one or two options but the menu prices for anything to do with crab, in the restaurant, which doesn’t open until later, was enough to make you keep a close grip on your credit card.

The nature centre was a homely little shack with a very pleasant lady serving, who was able to sell me a beaker of hot spiced apple juice for $1.50.  Advertised as ‘hot cider’, it really is apple juice and non-alcoholic, so maybe cider has a different connotation up here.  We nearly bought a companion for birdie, a rather nice fluffy white owl, but we decided that with no beak movement, just  a swivelling head, it didn’t offer the same sort of opportunities as old birdie.  (For birdie, read a good representation of the late Rod Hull’s emu.)

Up here on high, there was the option of nature walks, but with the weather already beginning to close in, we decided we’d head back down to sea level. The tram operator on the way down was drinking iced coffee. Quite a character and obviously more of a morning person than the other guy.

As with Sitka, Juneau seems to depend very heavily on tourism.  Yesterday, there were 5 or 6 ships in!  As it is the very end of the season, most shops and stores were displaying 40% to 50% off most merchandise.  We have never seen so many jewellery shops in one place before either.

We stopped at the “Alaskan Shirt Company” shop and along with a fair few other cruisers, emerged with bright red shopping bags.  We bought three tee shirts for NZ grandchildren (I have no idea what size Noah is and I am sure he has plenty of clothing he is growing into or out of at the moment anyway) plus a medium weight jacket for me.  My first purchase on this trip.  Back in NZ, I have a thick heavyweight jacket good enough to use as a motorbike jacket, but I travel with my lightweight rally jacket which isn’t exactly warm.  So at $20, this jacket was a good buy and I wore it straightaway as the drizzle continued.

Needing a hot drink, we walked into a side street establishment with a window sign that said “B’s Bistro & Bakery & Spice emporium”.  We laugh about it now, but we should have done an about turn and walked straight out.  I broke my two cardinal rules here.

1)    There has to be a proper espresso coffee machine.

2)   They must have large mugs or bowls.

We have never, ever, been into a ‘bakery/bistro’ before where:

1)    The cup cake was just plonked on the counter – no plate, no serviette

2)   You select a mug from the shelf

3)   Select a tea bag from the jar of your choice (I couldn’t possible face whatever they were offering as coffee)

4)   Pour your own hot water in from a pump pot (not boiling water from a kettle, which good tea demands)

5)   Add your own (white only) sugar from a jar and milk from a small jug, though that was empty and we had to ask for milk

6)   The Panini was delivered a few minutes later, via the front door

7)   There was a notice on the table (photo was too fuzzy) saying “Please bus your own table”.  (We assume this meant clear your own table.)

8)   You took your own dirty crockery to a bin

9)   You emptied any food waste and soiled paper napkin into another marked bin

10) The proprietor’s partner spent all her time on a computer

No wonder they had a notice in the door saying “Help wanted”. I could have helped them quite a lot, but I really don’t think that the sort of help I could offer there and then was quite what they were asking for.  Being environmentally friendly is very laudable, but decent food and coffee should come first.  I think the picture and Paula’s reaction sums up our experience pretty well.  Just to rub it in, just around the corner was a Subway which would have been a far better option, but we do like to try the smaller local businesses.  It is no wonder that Starbucks and Subway, not to mention Maccas, do so well, when local businesses are this bad.

Once again, we managed to chat to an American family who were on the Disney ship.  They were full of enthusiasm for their ship, but we suspect that they really pay much more per night than we do, so what Australians (and Kiwis) have to realise is, that although Princess are relatively strict about bringing your own booze on board and seem to charge like wounded bulls for much of the on board stuff, the base daily price that includes food and generally good entertainment, is a bargain compared to other lines.  With the San Francisco leg back to Auckland or Sydney, at 25 days, now cheaper than a one way premium economy airfare, any restrictions on booze are a minor consideration. 

Although the back on board time was 9pm, it was damp, misty and miserable and although M & M were doing a helicopter and dog sled trip at 11:15, we doubted that anyone booked on a later trip would have been successful.

We were heading back on board at 1:30pm and witnessed one of the saddest sights of the trip so far.  As we walked up the steps of the gangplank, those following us, standing in the rain and those trying to get off the ship, were held up for quite a while, as an obviously very distressed old lady in a wheelchair, was transferred out of one wheelchair and strapped into another wheelchair, designed for steps, as the staff then had to haul her up the long, narrow, steep steps.  So sad on so many counts.

After a warming soup, I left Paula in the cabin pottering and I went down to the vista lounge for the classic movie.  Today, it was the Marx Brothers in “Duck Soup”, with the wonderful mirror scene.  The lounge was packed of course and all 7 of us enjoyed it, though tiredness was creeping up on me and I nodded a couple of times towards the end!

After a hot chocolate in the atrium we later opted to eat in the buffet as the dining room menu was less appealing than usual - and there was no sign of the others.

The show in the vista was pianist Stephen Kane, backed by the orchestra.   With a mix of classical, Henry Mancini pieces from the movies and three Scott Joplin rags, this was a very versatile performance and done well.

We opted for no dancing again and although we sat in the atrium for a few minutes, we ended up with our recent new bed time of 11:25.

Tomorrow is scenic cruising again in Glacier Bay, after which we leave the USA temporarily and head for Canada, which should please at least three of the entertainment cruise staff.    

 

          

Day 44 - Sitka - Sep 6th

Another less than solid sleep, but getting used to it now!  This cabin location is such that there is no way you can avoid the noise of the winches when it is a tender port day and today was no exception.

It seems that our favourite parfait, from being a staple from day one, has now disappeared from the regular breakfast options.  I had to make do with option B – bacon, onions, chorizo sausage and beans.  A powerful start to the day with potentially latent problems of course!

We shared the bay with the Holland America ship – Oosterdam, so Sitka was due to be swamped with cruisers and the bay with tender boats.  Now there are over 500 Elite passengers (who get preferential tender boarding), the wait for the remainder increases with each leg.  We collected our tickets at exactly 10am; returned to the cabin to sort ourselves out; then joined the waiting masses.  The boat immediately before ours only took 8 passengers over and above the elites...  We boarded the tender at 11am for the 15 minute trip to the dock.  We were herded to the rear of the vessel where the diesel fumes were getting to be  problem, but thankfully, we managed to get out before feeling too queasy.

Sitka is not a very large place, so with two cruise ships in, dumping 4,000 passengers, into a place with only two streets, it was bustling.  Loads of souvenir shops and some reasonable bargains.  We bought two Alaskan mugs for $10, labelled Warren & Matt, for our Cruise Director and Deputy, who still seem to spend too much time dealing with stroppy passengers, some of whom are never happy unless they are complaining.   We like them both and they work well, though Matt has been suffering from some poor dental work that has knocked him around a fair bit.

We chatted to a couple of amiable Americans from the other ship and they volunteered to take our pic with the large stuffed bear in the main street, but somehow failed to capture the bear’s head!  Whilst we were talking, the church bells rang – at 12:20.  We are still puzzled as to why at that time.

As Alaska was once part of Russia, there is still a strong Russian influence on the town. The church had a notice out front, thanking visitors for their $5 donation.  Many didn’t bother to either visit or donate and no wonder.  There were a few interesting buildings to visit and the creek, just around the corner from where one of my pics was taken, seemed to be where the dead  salmon ended up after spawning.  We didn’t venture that far, but apparently, it was a bit niffy.  Nature takes care of it though, as when it rains, the dead salmon are washed into the sea and the crabs have a ready delivered food source.

As part of my ongoing collection of pics for the Twilight Princess video, (for next year) I managed a couple more pics of land based whales.  It is a constant source of amazement that these whales are also the ones with plates piled high at the buffet and especially of with desserts.  The one I snapped was seen a couple of minutes later scoffing a large hot dog from a street vendor, but I wasn’t able to take a pic.   I did manage more wheelie walker pics from the other ship though... 

Back on board, good news!  When we arrived at the buffet, it was back to normal self service, so we can assume that the novo-virus has been bowled over.  Thank goodness for that.  It has been a real strain on everyone, but especially the staff.

As is normal on port days, the quiz was in the Wheelhouse bar and along with a couple, a single and ourselves, we managed a combined team of five.  With a score of 15/20, we won!  We didn’t contribute too much, but I was able to answer a couple of musical questions that the others didn’t know, so a good team effort.  Rommel allowed us to choose our own prizes, so we ended up with a flashlight, a wallet, a pen, a karabiner and a magnetic clip.

Once again, to the early show with ventriloquist Don Bryan.  Another good show, before dinner for four, with just M & M.  A beautiful lamb rack was the star of the meal.

Off to the theatre and the cruise staff talent show.  All singers - which is a bit disappointing, but a fair show.  A couple of acts might have been better left in the staff karaoke bar, but a couple of others were just superb. With no nana nap this afternoon, an 11:25 bedtime again with an expectation of a decent sleep.

Another port day tomorrow, the Alaskan capital of Juneau and for us, a cable car/tram ride up the mountain is our plan.

 

Day 43 - Cruising Yakutat Bay with ice - Sep 5th

Once again, a poor night, not helped by the ship moving around rather a lot as it battled 50mph winds.  Paula had taken a sea sickness pill and slept really well!  I was wide awake from 2:45am to well after 5am, then totally crashed until 10:30!  With quizzing at 10:45, we arrived just as they were repeating the first question, but Gayle had it well in hand.  In fact, Gayle did us proud and we were just two points behind the winners who managed 17.

Too late then for breakfast, we had a light lunch!  We then headed for the cabin to await our scenic cruise up to the face of the Hubbard Glacier.  Once out on deck, there were passengers (and a few crew) well wrapped up to keep out the chill.  Never having been up close to a glacier before, what greeted us was staggering.  Not the gentle run down to the water’s edge we expected, but 80ft high cliffs of ice that every so often would rumble and crack, as another slab of ice crashed into the water.  We also learned that far from being pure water, melted glacier ice would contain all sorts of stuff you really wouldn’t want to drink.  Rather than glacial water, we made do with a plate of hot chips – and very nice they were too.

The captain took us surprisingly close to the ice face before executing a very slow three point turn and out again to open water, en route to Sitka tomorrow.

Rommel’s afternoon trivia was a multi-media event based on Broadway shows, where our lack of musical knowledge had us down with a such a low score that we daren’t even swap our paper!

Once again we went to the early show and this time Lee Bayliss did the magic and con trick part of his show, rather than just comedy.   I just love these pickpocket types who can remove a guy’s watch, belt and wallet without them noticing  a thing!  His magic and mind reading tricks were well executed too.

Dinner was a full house (other than Mick of course, who was still in transit to the UK) and afterwards, we headed back to the vista lounge for yet another excellent show.  This time, it was ventriloquist Don Bryan. With two props (and old gent and an old lady) , he was really good and remotely operated the old lady whilst holding the old man.  We thoroughly enjoyed both shows and both performers.  Fortunately Don has another show tomorrow night.

As Paula slept so well  on a sea sickness pill, I thought I’d try one tonight and with an 11:15 bed time, we’ll just see if it helps.

Just a week to go now for us and we are back to a NZ spring – which is probably a lot warmer than it was today.

 

Day 42 - Sledding in Seward - Sept 4th

If I thought I would get a good night’s sleep, I was wrong!  Paula was up first to watch the sail in to Seward, which is at the end of an inlet.  It was misty, cool, and bleak, but charming too.  We were booked into the immigration interview for 9:20am and on our tour at 10:20am.  There was plenty of time for breakfast and for us, the immigration interview was no problem.  Although it didn’t say so on our paperwork, we did need our passports and we also needed photo ID if going ashore.  For those not on organised tours, I gather there were complaints about the process being a bit of a shambles, with long waits in the theatre, then the last in being led out first.

We dumped our passports back into the safe but took our NZ driving licences instead.  (We had to show them when returning through the terminal.  A bit pointless really, as you can’t board the ship without your cruise card, which comes up with your pic anyway, when you go through the ship’s security.)

As we left the ship, we were able to say cheerio to entertainer Tony Pace, promising that if we ever get to Las Vegas, we’ll try and catch his show.  Knowing our luck, he’d be away on a cruise ship...

We went into the rather bleak building, but inside, found a sparse, but pleasant enough shed, with a fresh coffee stall, which was appreciated by many.  Our (basic) coach arrived early to take us for our dog sled ride and the driver Joe, was a cheerful soul as he explained that the dogs were looking forward to our arrival.  We thought he was kidding.  He wasn’t!  He claimed the dogs hadn’t been fed so the last on the coach would be fed to the dogs – after they had paid for the beers of course.

We seemed to have a happy coach load - with no wheelie walkers.  Joe had to shout as there was no PA system, but this just added to the return to nature experience.

It was about a 15 to 20 minute drive out to the Seavey’s Iditarod HQ (for Ididaride sled tours).  We had been waitlisted for this and many people missed out but could probably have tagged along and would have been looked after anyway.  We were led through the forest and warned about not touching a couple of trees/plants and Mark gave us a quick talk and explanation of what sledding was all about and the important history of ‘mushing’ and how it nearly died out.  Our hosts were apparently instrumental in saving it from extinction.

We were then led through the clearing to the dogs and when Joe said they were looking forward to our arrival, he wasn’t kidding.  All 85 dogs were going bonkers – more so once the handlers started to harness them to the sleds.  Sleds is not really correct, as these were more like six seater golf carts with room on the rear platform for two more plus the driver. Like most people, we expected large hefty dogs, but as you may see from the pics, they are anything but.

Our group of 24 was split into 3 and there were 14 dogs per team.  These dogs just love to run. The ride was only about 2kms but the dogs were rested at least twice.  For them, the weather is too warm.  We were feeling the cold!   The explanations and information we gained from all this was a major educational experience and we thought our 7mph speed was probably just for the tourists, but this is their normal speed, even in competition.  Our driver explained that the cost of doing the annual Iditarod across Alaska, even with the boss loaning him the dogs and the dog truck, was about $15,000.  This guy even lived in a small cabin on site with no running water, just to be close to the dogs.  Dedication indeed. 

After the ride, we had the puppy holding – which went down very well!  Paula’s pup pooped - on her, so lucky she was wearing the plastic poncho.  Fortunately there was plentiful supply of antiseptic wipes.

Then there was a presentation and explanation of how they protect the dogs (and driver) from the extreme cold, including as an extra, a sort of fur muff for the boys – if you get my drift.  Apparently a touch of frostbite in that region isn’t so good from a future breeding prospective.   Rob asked if they sold them in the shop.   This was a great experience and an informative one, so we considered it money well spent, even though as usual, Princess would have been creaming a fair bit off the top.

Back to the ship by 12:30, but as the sanitising process was still in full swing, we knew we were not allowed back on board until 2:30pm so our drivers kindly took us into town and dropped us off there, alongside the Sea Life Centre, which many cruisers visited and enjoyed.  We went to a coffee shop which had free Wi-Fi, no needless to say, just about every seat was occupied by cruisers with lap tops, i-pads and i-phones.

I had a genuinely large coffee and we both had a biscuit or seed bar.  Very nice too.  After a walk around a couple more souvenir shops, it started to rain, so instead of the waterside hike back to the ship, we opted for the free shuttle instead.  By the time we got to the harbour, it really was raining, so unfortunately, we missed out on wandering around there and went back on board.

A warming soup went down well and the afternoon nana nap was longer than planned, but I certainly needed it.  At this rate, with about three hours sleep at night and about the same in the afternoon, when we get back home, there will be no jet lag.

Before dinner, we went to the early show in the Vista.  Lee Bayliss, comedian.  A good show but once again, poor attendance, but we’ll see his show tomorrow night (different show).

Just four of us for dinner as Alex and Teri were in attendance.  Nice enough meal as always and then we just wandered to the Atrium to relax.  Not too many dancing at all (we all miss Sue and Darryl!) and an early retirement for us.  However, the captain warned of rougher seas and high winds and even before bedtime, the ship was moving around a fair bit, so Paula took a sea sickness pill as she knows they make her sleep.  With an early bedtime of about 10:45, would I sleep?

Scenic cruising tomorrow but the weather forecast isn’t too good, so not sure how much we’ll actually see.

Days 40 & 41 - Nearing the end of "The Chunk" - Sept 2nd/3rd

Not a good night’s sleep – again.  It seems that we are not the only ones with disturbed sleep patterns at the moment as almost everyone we meet seems to be sleeping in late regardless of bed time.  Paula didn’t get to sleep until about 3:30am.

By the time we’d waded through breakfast, it was morning quiz time.  Outside the rain had stopped but the seas were a bit more active than they had been, but not enough to feel queasy. 

The sea day followed our usual relaxing pattern with non-winning quiz results and a late lunch, with a bit of internet catch up and blogging.  Currently, internet is still fast enough to make it easier and quicker to download the emails rather than read them on line.  This area of the ocean is alongside the “Dangerous Catch” base if any of  you have seen the documentaries on crab catching in the area.   Hopefully we’ll be able to sample the local crab at some stage when we hit land, even if it is only a crab sandwich.

Afternoon’s quiz was notable for Megan knowing that the book with the greatest sales in the UK after the Bible and the Koran, was the Guinness Book of Records.  The adjacent team won, but only had 4 team members instead of six, so with our new found motto of “if you don’t ask, you don’t get” when Ali brought the six prizes over, we offered to relieve her of the two spares.  She accepted our kind offer!  Seems odd that not so long ago, the second book in the UK list, after the Bible, was Baden-Powell’s “Scouting For Boys”.  Pity that isn’t still the case. 

Dinner was OK but as previously, the star course was the French onion soup.  Pat and Mick are back in their original cabin, but one of Mick’s brothers in England has sadly passed away, so Mick is heading over to the UK for the funeral, assuming he can get the flights organised.

We went to the theatre for yet another production showing of  “Save the Last Dance”.  This was performed by our original dance group and is their last before San Francisco when they move on.  We had seen it twice before, but still enjoyed it.  The most interesting aspect is that the backdrop is all coloured lights, yet the earlier shows all seem to have relatively simple and featureless backdrops.

With clocks moving on yet again, we opted to crash early at 11:30pm – or 12:30am with the clock move.  We were hoping it would help our sleep. 

It may have helped Paula.  It certainly didn’t help me!  Although I got to sleep OK, I was awake again for several hours and probably only got back to sleep not long before the sun rose.  Final wake up then was 10am!  Too late for Paula’s Zumba but just enough time to grab the parfait (yoghurt + cereal) before quiz at 10:45.  I’ll let you guess as to whether or not we won it.

Coffee afterwards with M & M up in the Horizon Court, as neither atrium floors (5 & 7) had seating for 4 as they had Australia vs the rest of the World bowls challenge.  Wandering through the buffet which was serving lunch by then, we noted the delicious spring rolls and a chicken curry.

Unfortunately, by the time we returned, about 2:20pm, they had run out of both.  The cherry cobbler was absolutely delicious though.

The quiz was relocated to the Wheelhouse Bar and we probably had our worst score ever – well, on this cruise anyway.

I didn’t have an afternoon nod, so hopefully that means a decent sleep tonight.  After dinner, we did Alan & Alana’s quiz, but with just Paula and I, we did well to finish in 4^th place.  I should point out that it is 4^th equal, out of 2,000 players (according to Alana...).  With no clock advancement tonight and an early cruise into Seward in Alaska, plus the previous lack of sleep, we crashed at 11:45pm, looking forward to our dog sled ride tomorrow, for a real Alaskan experience.   Initially that 2 hour experience was sold out, but we managed to get from the wait list to confirmed.  Whilst we are sledding, the ship is once again going through an intensive sanitisation programme, so we have to clear all bench/desk/sink tops this time and cannot re-board the ship until after 2pm.   Our tour finishes at 12:20.

Presumably, tomorrow is also our coolest day, as afterwards, we start heading south again, albeit slowly, via some scenic cruising.   Meanwhile, we read that there were floods on Auckland’s North Shore and Julie has just gone to Fiji, so we hope that our notoriously dodgy roof coped.  (It was always pretty good - until we had it replaced.)

Days 38 & 39 - Still on the chunk - Aug 31st/Sep 1st

Traditionally, long spells of sea days are easy enough and in fact, very pleasant and this is no exception, other than the hygiene restrictions affecting mainly the food.  Having a waiter or buffet staff member dole out your food is no problem, but as mentioned before, the lack of speciality buffet lunches is something noticeable.  Also withdrawn are the delicious Belgian waffles from breakfast, plus the large tray of goodies (mini cakes, sandwiches etc) from the atrium bars, morning and afternoon.  We can’t really complain though, but it is just something to take a little gloss off the experience.

Others have been less fortunate with Pat & Mick having to be relocated from their balcony cabin to an interior cabin, as have three other couples, due to some form of fume leakage.  Needless to say, they aren’t too happy about it.

The weather has not only turned much cooler, but we have also had a couple of days of drizzly rain and the seas have been a bit more active, though we don’t know of anyone who needed the “motion discomfort devices”.

If our quiz scores are anything to go by, we are not getting any smarter either and we managed a miserable 8/20 at one morning session.

We skipped the afternoon quiz as it was an art trivia and the lure of a coffee was more attractive.

We joined a packed Princess theatre for Tony Pace’s second show.  Not many impressions this time but still a great show.  He must be the only performer that we know of (other than last year’s Beatles tribute band) who has managed four standing ovations from four shows.  He has that knack of communicating with an audience, both on and off stage, and is a real star when he comes down off stage and plays up to one or two on the front row, but in the nicest possible way.  Some performers pick on the front row. He involves them.

The day after, we saw Tony in the Horizon Court, reading (a book on Buddhism!) and went over to thank him again.  He was happy enough to chat away for about half an hour or so and has to be one of the very nicest entertainers we have met.  I doubt there will be the opportunity to slot in another show, but we have put in a request anyway.  He is based in Las Vegas so if you ever get the chance to see his show, please do.

On both nights, the clocks advanced an hour and this seems to have disturbed the (our) sleep patterns but it was bit embarrassing when there was a knock on the door at 8:25am (just as I was about to switch on the TV for the Wake Show).  There was the cruise Director returning my copies of Garry’s DVDs (of the 2011 Cruise) and I was still in my sleep shorts!  Could have been worse I suppose...  Warren apologised profusely, but that was all OK.  We actually managed to watch one ourselves, later in the day and relived Monaco, Barcelona, Lisbon etc.

After watching the movie, “A Week With Marilyn” which we really enjoyed, we headed off to quiz.  Although we didn’t win overall, it appears I was the only one in the room who knew what the “Pareto principle” was.  I had to explain it on Rommel’s behalf and Paula claimed it was worth a prize.  So, I managed a quiz prize without winning!  What is Pareto?  I’ll save that, just in case our team needs it next year.

We opted for the buffet as we wanted to go to see the singer, Mark Preston at 7:45 (our normal dining time) and another Sherlock Holmes show at 10pm.  We arrived early at the show, but there were no seats left!   We stood at the rear of the theatre but didn’t stay.  Straight singers are not really my cup of tea.

On to the Vista for a 10pm rendition of “Sherlock Holmes and the Disappearance of the Didsbury Diamonds”.   Although we had seen this particular presentation before, it was still enjoyable, as much for the cruise staff as anything.  Rommel (a Canadian) trying to do an upper crust British accent and Marcus (another Canadian) trying to act the Butler’s part and then lapse into what was supposed to be Cockney, was comical in itself.  After a coffee in a spookily quiet atrium, we then caught up with Alan and Alana relaxing and as usual, they filled us in with stories that really should be recorded.  Their memoires of over 25 years of cruising and with Alan’s writing talent, would be a most enjoyable read.

So bed late yet again and another hour forwards too – and two more sea days before Alaska.

Happy Birthday to Tui in NZ.